Harvard Catalyst Profiles

This is a clinical research project for a student interested in ophthalmology. The goal is to improve glaucoma diagnostics and to use imaging tools to understand the pathogenesis of different types of glaucoma. Dr. Shen has a collaborative project to assess the roles of autoimmunity in the pathogenesis of glaucoma and identify systemic biomarkers for glaucoma progression. Furthermore, Dr. Shen has collaborated with the Mass Eye and Ear Bioinformatics team to use artificial intelligence to diagnose and monitor glaucoma. This includes visual field testing and imaging of the optic nerve with OCT. The student will learn how to formulate hypotheses and design methods for data collection and data analysis to test these hypotheses. They will participate in data collection and data analysis. They will learn a great deal about glaucoma, how to interpret visual fields and optic nerve images. Most importantly, the student will learn how to conduct clinical research and how to publish their findings in a peer-review journal. Activities will take place in-person at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Boston.